KOLKATA: The England senior team has always been considered as a group with the potential to win major tournaments, who somehow or the other end up falling short. The generation that played the 2002 and 2006 World Cups were considered to be among the best. Be it pressure or just under performance, they failed to deliver when it mattered.
But the new generation are definitely changing things. While the U-20 boys clinched the World Cup this year, the bunch of kids currently participating in the U-17 World Cup in India are no pushovers themselves. They reached the finals of the U-17 European Championships, losing to Spain on penalties. And coach Steve Cooper feels St George’s Park, which opened in 2012, has played a pivotal role in it.
“Earlier, young players used to come to the national team with different tactical training and mindset. There was no particular style the team followed. Whichever coach took over, the team played according to his whims and fancies.”
But now the system is different as all youth coaches are trained at St George's Park and the same style is employed across age group football in the country. “The media back home initially criticized it but we are reaping the benefits now. All youth players are trained with the same doctrine and in the long run, the English FA aims to put the same style into effect with the senior team,” the former Liverpool academy coach added.
A lot of mental conditioning is done with the kids. To prepare them for match situations as well as if results don’t go their way. “Handling pressure is an art, especially in football and high-profile games. These kids, considering their age, are immensely well prepared. They have never seen close to 50,000 fans in their youth games in their own country. Playing in such an atmosphere and coping so admirably will hold them in good stead in the future,” the 37-year-old added.
The players also added that clubs have been working in tandem with the parent body to ensure maximum exposure, especially considering the influx of money into the English game. “We all want to play as much football as possible and sometimes, we cannot become automatic starters at our club. That is when the FA comes in, providing us extra training and games that help keep our development on course,” skipper Marc Guehi said.
Refusing to get carried away, Cooper, though, admitted that this a golden period for youth development in the country. “Age group football is blossoming and the boys are doing well as you can see from the results. This definitely is a golden generation and it is up to the players to keep performing to the best of their abilities.”